Dust to Dust
by Apollymi
Summary: Tracy Vetter was not a happy woman. Spirit... Ghost... Whatever the hell she was. (Semi-AU from "Ashes to Ashes", eventually shipping, series of shorts, occasionally cowritten with Katsuko)
1. Turned to Dust

**Dust to Dust**  
Turned to Dust  
by Apollymi

**Word Count:** 257**  
Genre: **Post-Series, AU (after "Ashes to Ashes)  
**Occasionally Cowritten with: **Katsuko  
**Written for: **Katsuko**  
Author's Note:** _Forever Knight_ belongs to Columbia/Tristar and all other associated copyright holders. I do own the storyline, such that it is, though. So the moral of this story is: Mine, steal, die.

* * *

Tracy Vetter was _not_ a happy woman. Spirit... Ghost... Whatever the hell she was.

The last thing she clearly remembered was being shot, possibly in the head, then... nothing. Worlds and worlds of nothing, as far as the eye could see, if that was the appropriate phrase for the matter. Wasn't there supposed to be a bright, white light or a tunnel or something? What a gyp!

She felt... different than how she had before: lighter, perhaps, but at the same time, more tied down. And frankly, she didn't like it.

It was about time for her to take stock of herself. It was time to open her eyes and see what was what.

Oh no. No way. There was no _way_ she was haunting Nick. Of all people...

But in a way, it was all starting to come back to her now. _You could have trusted me._

'You bastard, you could have trusted!' she railed to herself. 'If I could handle Vachon, I could have handled you as well!'

The lack of trust was infuriating. Not that she had breathed a word about Vachon, and... and...

And what exactly was going on here anyway? She recognized Lacroix - he was a tough guy to forget - and Nick and... Was that Natalie on the floor over there? There was a flash of light over the coroner's still form, and... and she thought she knew exactly what that was: what she had missed. Still, she wasn't really picking up too much, then...

"Damn you, Nicholas."

'Stop it!'

* * *

**30 December 2013**

This was written in August 2010. I didn't upload it here because I ship a very rare pairing here. I also trailed off writing on this series for a while, just picking it back up in December 2013. It was originally entitled "CSI: Toronto", but it has since been retitled _Dust to Dust_, since I have gone AU from the episode "Ashes to Ashes". Because I refuse to accept the "everyone dies" ending. (And "CSI: Toronto" will still be written.)

Katsuko will write a few stories in this along with me. All stories by her will be marked as such.

If you are reading this, please let me know.

Apollymi


	2. Sanctity Here That I Call Home

**Dust to Dust**  
Sanctity Here That I Call Home  
by Apollymi

**Word Count:** 400**  
Genre: **Post-Series, AU (after "Ashes to Ashes)  
**Occasionally Cowritten with: **Katsuko  
**Written for: **Katsuko**  
Author's Note:** _Forever Knight_ belongs to Columbia/Tristar and all other associated copyright holders. I do own the storyline, such that it is, though. So the moral of this story is: Mine, steal, die.

* * *

Tracy took another look at the contents of the fridge before her and sighed heavily. "Tell me again, Nick: how did you fool everyone for so many years? Get a little actual food in here, for God's sake!"

"Clearly, no one was as interested with the contents of my refrigerator as you have proven to be."

"If anyone looks in here, they'll think you're a raging alcoholic," she predicted direly.

If anyone came by here, of course. Some nights, she couldn't decide which was worse: haunting a reclusive vampire or that it was mostly only vampires who could, apparently, see her. At least she had some range: within 10 meters of wherever Nick was. That was better than some ghosts she had made the acquaintance of since her death.

She had been a bit surprised by the number of ghosts in Toronto, again of the ones she had met since her own death. Not that she got to see many of them because right now Nick wasn't going out much - or at all. Sometimes he barely reminded her of her partner. Too much had happened all at once: Schanke, Cohen, her, Natalie...

And aside from her, Nick only had that Lacroix guy for company most nights. The man infuriated Tracy to no end, but Nick seemed to brush off his creepy comment of the night easily. Because, seriously, if she didn't know better, she might have been inclined to think Lacroix was being creepy for fun, like he had a bet going on just how much he could annoy Nick before Nick finally boiled over.

If annoying Nick into a murder - a patricide, if she wanted to think of it in a certain way - was the only way to get him out of this funk, then she might willingly - no, happily - hand over the stake. That it would be Lacroix would only be a bonus; the man truly annoyed her.

"You need something to do," she declared, "before we _both_ go mad of boredom."

"And what did you have in mind?"

Inwardly, she felt this was cause for a small celebration: it was the most interest in anything she had gotten out of Nick in a while. Aloud, though, she kept it calm. No sense in giving him a reason to change his mind.

"I don't know yet," she offered," but I'll think of something."

* * *

**30 December 2013**

This one has been written since August 2010. Since I have picked the series back up, I am posting all that is written at once.

This one was written by me for Katsuko's giggling pleasure.

Apollymi


	3. This Is Not Our Paradise

**Dust to Dust**  
This Is Not Our Paradise  
by Apollymi

**Word Count:** 923**  
Genre: **Post-Series, AU (after "Ashes to Ashes)  
**Occasionally Cowritten with: **Katsuko  
**Written for: **Katsuko**  
Author's Note:** _Forever Knight_ belongs to Columbia/Tristar and all other associated copyright holders. I do own the storyline, such that it is, though. So the moral of this story is: Mine, steal, die.

* * *

Tracy Vetter grinned brightly at the ghost in the elevator. She hadn't really known Urs well when they had both been alive, oddly enough given the men their lives had shared, given Vachon. That still hurt, thinking too long or hard about the Spanish vampire. It was hard to believe it had been a year since he had been killed. It had been that long for Urs as well, but did Nick ever go to the church where Vachon had died... had killed himself? Nope, of course not. And Tracy was still bound to a certain range around Nick.

That had been bad enough, but it had been worse for Urs. The same vampire who had killed Vachon had killed her as well, in the elevator to Nick's loft... and that was where Urs had been stuck all this time. She had not been able to step out of the elevator. At least, Tracy had some ten or so meters that she could get from Nick, a range that was steadily increasing as she got used to her new circumstances.

And it was getting better for Urs. Today marked the first time she had been able to leave the elevator. The pair of them had taken to experimenting with this while Nick was asleep upstairs, anything to keep another fit of depression at bay. Tracy wasn't fond of Lacroix, though Urs didn't seem to mind him in the least, apparently knowing more than a few strange characters in her day-and if Nick got too upset, it wouldn't be too long before Lacroix found a way to turn up. He was like a bad penny that way.

She wouldn't actually mind the man too much if he could do something to stir Nick. Yes, she might think he was creepy as hell, but he obviously cared for Nick. And he was trying. God, but was he trying. She didn't even know where he came up with some of the things he had tried over the last year, except that she was pretty sure that it was desperation more than anything else. Not much stirred Nick these days, even the pretty vampire woman named Janette that Lacroix had brought and left for a few weeks. While Nick had roused himself more than he had for much else, ultimately Janette had had to leave and that had been the end of that upswing.

Maybe Urs' major victory here would do something to cheer Nick up. They could hope anyway.

She felt bad for the guy. She really did. It had been a horrible year, last year, for him. Captain Cohen and his partner Schanke had died. Nick had actually gotten shot himself. Screed had died of some weird vampire plague. Vachon and Urs died at the hands of some weird ancient vampire. Nick had apparently nearly been killed by the same creature. She had died. Natalie had died, by Nick's hand, even if it had been an accident. Lacroix had almost killed Nick at Nick's request... and she still wasn't sure that Nick had forgiven her stopping Lacroix. She couldn't blame him for trying to shut the world out. She defied anyone to do that.

But damn it, he needed to get out of this house. Too much had happened here, so much of it bad, and it couldn't be good for him. Once they could figure out a way to get Urs mobile, she was going to start insisting that they all move, even Lacroix if needs be. They needed to leave this loft, if not Toronto altogether.

Maybe if they could figure out a way to bind Urs to someone, as she was bound to Nick... And in the meanwhile, she would just keep on working on Nick. He sometimes responded to her taunts and pointed remarks, as much as he responded to anything these days, and she was taking that as a positive sign.

Even if he was living to keep her on this plane of existence or whatever, at least he was still alive. That was what she told herself to get through the long days and nights.

And now she had Urs to help, now that Urs was developing some range. She was looking a little shaky, but it was improvement. Tracy offered her an encouraging grin and tried not to laugh as Urs carefully skirted the couch. Tracy had learned quickly enough that she could walk right through furniture and walls... or, alternatively if she tried hard enough, she could utilize them for their intended purposes. It had taken her a bit, though, to get used to not having her own body anymore, but it was better than being gone, she figured. Being a ghost had some perks.

One of them, she decided then and there, was being able to see the look on Urs' face as she finally made it to the oversized window on the far side of the room. Nick had taken to leaving it open for her to see out while she was stuck here with him, and she and Urs had set it as Urs' goal: it was to be her first target after she finally managed to leave the elevator.

The blonde woman's face lit up like the sun, a huge smile spreading happily, even as the faintest impression of tears glimmered in her eyes. She stood in front of the window, lifting one pale hand to the glass, and let out a sound that was more laughter than tears.

"Urs?" Tracy prompted, immediately at her friend's side.

"It's been so long since I've seen the sun..."

* * *

**30 December 2013**

The latest in the series to be written, this one only premiered on my journaling community this month, December 2013. It was written by me, Apollymi, for Katsuko - and for myself, because I'm mostly feeling like Nick in this series.

Here's a couple of stunners I found out when I was doing research for this story: this shipping name for Nick/Vachon is Heartbreakers or The Night Haven; there doesn't seem to be a shipping name for Urs/Tracy; and I identify too much with Nick Knight sometimes. I wrote some 300 words of character analysis on him last night, ending with "Seriously, I think there's a damn good reason why this series ends in assisted suicide".

This is the latest part written. Another should come out fairly early in the new year, since I discovered I need to rewatch Season Three. Tracy remains a unique sort of ghost, even by _Forever Knight_ standards. And I like her that way.

If you are still reading this, please leave a comment or something.

Apollymi


	4. Between Two Worlds

**Dust to Dust**  
Between Two Worlds  
by Apollymi

**Word Count:** 888**  
Genre: **Post-Series, AU (after "Ashes to Ashes)  
**Occasionally Cowritten with: **Katsuko  
**Written for: **Katsuko**  
Author's Note:** _Forever Knight_ belongs to Columbia/Tristar and all other associated copyright holders. I do own the storyline, such that it is, though. So the moral of this story is: Mine, steal, die.

* * *

There were faint sounds of stirring in the loft on the top of the stairs. That was usually her warning that Nick was about to arise for the evening. If it was still any daylight left, it gave her time enough to close the windows so she didn't end up charbroiling her reluctant roommate. If it was already dark, as it was now, it gave her time enough to open the remaining window for the evening, and that was what she did.

If Urs looked any more pleased, she would say the woman was squirming like an excitable puppy. It was utterly adorable, though, so she bit her tongue. This was fairly important news, and honestly, she wasn't too far from doing the same. Today marked the first day that Urs had been able to move so far from the elevator she had been killed in, and it was cause for celebration, as she figured it. How they were going to celebrate was another matter altogether, but she would come up with something. She was getting pretty talented at improvising in the last year or so, however long it had been since she died.

And honestly, if anything was ever going to cheer Nick up some, it was going to be seeing this. This was a huge step forward, for all of them, she thought, now that Urs was out of the elevator that had been her prison for a year.

A lot about this whole ghost business made no sense to her. She had yet to figure out why she had been unable to move on, other than the feeling of betrayal and general lack of trust - and perhaps even foolishness - that came from Nick not sharing his secret with her, from her never guessing it even with knowing Vachon. She had seen Natalie move on, but that had left her with more questions than answers. And it wasn't like she - in any way - felt like trying to kill anyone, the way Susan Feldman's ghost had tried so hard to kill her.

Honestly, the whole thing seemed like something out of some cheesy 80s movie, minus the love affair plot line and Whoopi Goldberg. She was pretty sure that had been nipped in the bud. Whatever Lacroix had done to make her think Vachon had moved on had disappeared with her death. She remembered holding the stake as Vachon rushed her. She remembered how mad he had sounded, the words he had said, the claw marks on his face. Urs bore similar marks and had spoken of a little girl vampire who had murdered her.

A small and very petty part of her was distinctly happy not to show any signs of the gunshot that had ended her own life. She was likewise glad that she had managed to avoid said little girl. Listening to the three vampires (or two vampires and the ghost of a third vampire) talk, she gathered the little girl had only gone after vampires, had even been behind the corpse she and Nick had investigated at the Raven. She had made a point of sitting down and shutting up and listening when it came to the other vampires out there now; she was learning a whole lot more than she had in a year hanging around with Vachon and Screed. She understood much better now the need for vampires to move on, to leave a city in their dust and not look back. There was, after all, only so many mortal and immortal friends dying that one could survive.

Lacroix had been pushing for them to leave for months now. With Urs' marked progression tonight, it was only a matter of time now before they put Toronto to their backs. Personally, though, she had a couple of loose ends she wanted to tidy up before they were rid of Toronto, because it wasn't like she had the option of leaving Nick now. Even if she managed to tidy up all her loose ends, she wasn't going to be moving on just yet: she had at least one seriously ongoing project to complete, and that was Operation: Cheer Up, Nick, You Sad Bastard. So the name needed a little work. Like the operation itself, the title was still a work in progress.

They would be leaving Toronto soon, she figured, but there were two things she wanted to do first. Well, actually, it was more one thing with two steps, truth be told. She wanted to go by Screed's place and make sure he wasn't still around like Urs had been. For all of his weird ways, the rat-eating English vampire had grown on her... rather like a fungus, which probably wasn't surprising given the state of the place he had lived in. But the other step was going to be harder. She wanted to go by the church. If Vachon's ghost was still there, she was going to find some way to drag him along with them. If he wasn't, then she was going to say goodbye and get with the moving on.

A faint noise at the top of the stairs turned her attention back up there. She didn't even bother trying to hide the huge grin threatening to split her face open as she presented Urs, gameshow girl-style, at Nick with a cheerful "Surprise!"

* * *

**08 January 2014**

I have a confession to make. This... isn't my first story written in 2014. I have another _Forever Knight _story that I've finished a prologue for. However, I'm cowriting it with Katsuko and will not be uploading it until she has written her part of the prologue. I would hate to leave you guys halfway through the middle of a chapter after all.

See? This is what happens. I get into rare pairings and can't find enough stories for them... and I start writing stories. It's _Yu-Gi-Oh_ and Yami Bakura/Kaiba Seto all over again.

As always, if you're reading, leave me a note or something saying so. Reviews are fantastic. PMs are love.

(And I will be working on _Yu-Gi-Oh_ stories before long. I have both of the ongoing ones open on my laptop, so all I need are words to start coming.)

Love you guys!  
Apollymi


	5. Closer to My Sanctuary

**Dust to Dust**  
Closer to My Sanctuary  
by Apollymi

**Word Count:** 1,039**  
Genre: **Post-Series, AU (after "Ashes to Ashes)  
**Occasionally Cowritten with: **Katsuko  
**Written for: **Katsuko**  
Author's Note:** _Forever Knight_ belongs to Columbia/Tristar and all other associated copyright holders. I do own the storyline, such that it is, though. So the moral of this story is: Mine, steal, die.

* * *

One of these long nights, she was going to have to ask just what it was that Lacroix had told people had happened to Nick to explain his disappearance. She was fairly certain that Natalie's death had been explained away with a terrible car wreck, but what had been done where Nick was concerned? Had he 'died' in the same accident with Natalie? Had he left town after everything that had happened recently? Was he supposed to be dead or alive?

It had not been too important to know before now, not with Nick doing his best impression of a hermit over the past year. Now, though... Now was an entire other kettle of fish, as the saying went.

She had been right after all: seeing Urs out and about, free of the elevator where she had died a year ago... It had been just the impetus Nick needed. It wasn't an overnight change or anything, but he was definitely looking more like the Nick who had been her partner and less like a ghost of his former self, pun most definitely intended.

Honestly, if she hadn't known better, she might have assumed that he was a ghost like she and Urs were, given how little interaction she had been seeing from him, how little he had been involving himself in basic day-to-day activities. But she had known better: some things were too much for a person, whether they were human or vampire or otherwise, to easily bounce back from - and the year that culminated in her death and Natalie's death and nearly Nick's own death, to say nothing of Don Schanke and Captain Amanda Cohen and even Vachon, definitely fit that bill. God, but did it fit that bill.

That was starting to change, though. It was small things really up until now, but tonight... Tonight had been a pretty major leap forward. After all, they had finally gotten Nick out of his loft. Granted, it was just to the parking lot, but still, it was a great first step.

They were testing both her and Urs' range tonight. As far as she could guess, it was continuing to expand, though for how long she couldn't begin to say. Personally, she wondered if this was similar to what bungee-jumping felt like: going further and further out, until there was that sick snap and then a feeling of being snatched back to relative safety. That was, after all, very much what these experiments were like.

And finally, there was that sickening tug, the one that meant she had reached her limit, at least for tonight. As long as she stood where she was, everything hurt, even the breathing she continued to do out of habit alone. If it were possible for her to throw up, she would probably do it. Falling back a step or two eased it, though, and she breathed an unnecessary sigh of pure relief. God, she always hated that.

Urs was still walking, though, which was interesting. The blonde vampiress managed to keep going, in fact, until she was nearly the same distance from Tracy as Tracy was from Nick. That was good, at least. Now that she was free of the elevator. Urs had some range. Good.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was startled to see an actual smile starting to bloom across Nick's face. It had been a while since she had seen one of those. She wasn't going to comment on it, though, and risk it disappearing altogether. Instead, she merely commented, "It's about, what, fifteen or sixteen meters now?"

"Closer to seventeen, I think," he returned, "and Urs maybe another twelve."

That gave them nearly forty meters to work with, which was too bad, all in all. She shot Nick an answering grin and start back towards the building. A pained sound behind her made her slam on the brakes, however, whirling back to face Urs. The other blonde woman was doubled over, looking like she had been punched hard in the gut.

Faster than her eye could follow, Nick was at Urs' side. She had half a second to wonder at how that didn't seem to help at all - and then she too was off and running towards Urs... only to slide to a careful stop after only a few steps. Her moving closer had apparently taken care of the problem for Urs the same way that moving closer to Nick helped her..

Well, it wasn't that many nights ago that she had been thinking they needed to find someone to bind Urs too, like she seemed to be bound to Nick. It looked like it had somehow managed to happen anyway without any input from anyone, only Urs had managed to end up bound to Tracy. It worked, in a way, as surprising as the revelation might have been.

"I think that's enough for tonight," Nick commented. From the expression on his face, he had made the same connection that she just had. More than that, he didn't exactly seem displeased with the idea.

Good. No, this was definitely really good. Tall, pale, and creepy - Lacroix - would be putting in his nightly appearance before much longer. There would be the inevitable cajoling-phrased-as-orders for Nick to move on from the city. This was one of the rare things she would agree with Lacroix on. She did have a couple of conditions, though, and maybe it was time to bring them up.

Out of deference to Urs, they used the stairs these days. Urs in particular seemed to be ready to be back in the loft, and that was all right: she remembered feeling the same way the first time she discovered her range. As it was, though, she found herself walking up the stairs behind Nick, silently weighing her options before she spoke.

"Nick?" He stopped a step or two above her and glanced back questioningly. "Now that we're all settled, me and Urs, if you want to leave Toronto next time Lacroix asks, it's fine. I just have one request before we leave."

"What's that?"

She took a deep breath to steel herself before answering, "I want to say goodbye to Screed and... and Vachon."

* * *

**25 January 2014**

I said this to Katsuko while I was writing this, but I never expected to like writing Tracy Vetter. I enjoyed the character well enough when the show was on air (and when I could locate my VHS tapes of the show from where I recorded it off TV), but I never expected to like writing her. Season Three was the first season I got to watch as it aired; I caught Seasons One and Two in reruns, and it took me quite a while to track down the _Nick Knight_ movie with Rick Springfield.

I'm just going to continue to be proud of this little series and the fact I'm setting rules for my ghosts that are separate from the "Dead of Night" episode ones.

And yeah, that's about it. See you in other stories.  
Apollymi


End file.
